According to
The Hollywood Reporter, Brittany Snow--previously rumored as the frontrunner in the role of bratty dance show star Amber Von Tussle--has been confirmed for the upcoming
Hairspray film.
She will join a starry cast that so far includes
John Travolta as Edna Turnblad,
Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle, Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle, Amanda Bynes as Penny Pingleton, Zac Efron as Link Larkin, Elijah Kelley as Seaweed and newcomer Nicole Blonksy as Tracy Turnblad,
who helps to integrate a Baltimore dance show-and wins the heart of Link in the process.
Snow gained fame as Meg Pryor on "American Dreams," (set in roughly the same era as Hairspray) but had previously been seen on "The Guiding Light" for three years. Her other film and TV credits include "Nip/Tuck," The Pacifier and the upcoming teen comedy John Tucker Must Die.
The film version of Hairspray will be directed by Adam Shankman (Bringing Down the House) produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, for their Zadan/Meron Productions, which previously executive produced the Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning Best Picture Chicago. Hairspray is originally based on the 1988 John Waters comedy. The new version of the film will be based on New Line's hit Broadway adaptation of the film, which debuted in 2002, and went on to win eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book and Best Director.
Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman will contribute new songs to their existing Tony Award-winning score. Shaiman will also serve as the film's music supervisor and will compose the music score for the film as well as produce its songs. Wittman and Shaiman will also serve as executive producers on the film. The new screenplay for Hairspray will be written by Leslie Dixon (Freaky Friday, Outrageous Fortune).
Toby Emmerich, New Line's president of production, is overseeing the project along with New Line's Executive VP of Production Mark Kaufman, and Creative Executives Michael Disco and Daryl Freimark.
